Midterms are over! Democrats swept the House, and Republicans gained a bit more control over the Senate. So what does this mean for higher education? We’ve got a whole section of Relevant Reads just to answer this one question. In the meantime, there’s plenty to watch out for before the new Congress is sworn in. Most pressingly: The Department of Education just released their proposed rules for TItle IX, and victim advocacy groups are in an uproar. What do they include, and why are they upset? Check it out – inside.

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Unsurprisingly, victim advocacy groups oppose the rule changes, saying that the rules impose criminal investigation standards to a civil case. Many of the arguments include the following positions. Cross-examination would be potentially intimidating and retraumatizing for victims (though proponents of this argue that this might make it easier for victims to argue their case). Victims would remain at risk from the accused while a risk-assessment is conducted. Sexual assault by students in student apartments that aren’t owned by the university should be investigated, especially as this means that a victim would have to continue to attend school or live next to their assaulter. Many victims of sexual assault are so traumatized by the event that they have difficulty speaking to a stranger to file a report, and often much easier for them to confide in a trusted adult with the authority to move on the complaint. Students who face harassment shouldn’t have to prove that their access to education is being impeded in order for the harassment to stop. Allowing for flexibility in standard of proof might allow a university to use a higher standard of proof in cases that could harm a university’s image. It would requires increased evidence of an assault, when assaults are often difficult to prove in the first place. Finally, victims might feel pressured to mediate by their college or by mutual friends of the accused when a more just response should be a formal resolution.

Borrower Defense to Repayment

The Department of Education’s (ED) continues to be under fire for their treatment of the Borrower Defense to Repayment program, a program that protects student borrowers from predatory lending and institutions. The program has been criticized by Secretary DeVos, calling it a “free money” giveaway program, and she appointed a former Dean of a for-profit institution to run the program. Additionally, it has come to light that there are no full-time ED employees devoted to investigating complaints. Unsurprisingly, her administration has only approved 16,000 claims (with over 100,000 left undecided) by the middle of 2018, with about 15,000 of them being granted partial forgiveness. In comparison, in the last two weeks of President Obama’s tenure, nearly 15,000 claims were granted complete forgiveness.

But we have until January 3rd until the new Congress gets sworn in, and in the meantime, we’ll be working with a lame duck Congress. There are some big issues to tackle, most significant being the remaining appropriations bills, which have just a few weeks to pass before a government shutdown (Dec 7) and that are facing an uphill battle with President Trump threatening to refuse to sign off on them unless he has funding for his border wall. Since conservatives lost power in the House, they may try to push through some of their more controversial items that won’t pass in the new Congress. However, immigration isn’t likely to be one of them.

THE JUDICIAL BRANCH

LITIGATION

Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College

The federal judge overseeing the Harvard discrimination case has approved a schedule moving forward, requiring both groups to submit a 75-page-maximum final argument in December, with a written responses due in January and oral arguments in February.

REPORTS AND PRESENTATIONS

Monthly Budget Review: Summary for Fiscal Year 2018, CBO: In fiscal year 2018, the budget deficit totaled $779 billion—$113 billion more than the shortfall recorded in 2017. Measured as a share of GDP, the deficit increased to 3.8 percent in 2018, up from 3.5 percent in 2017 and 3.2 percent in 2016.

Transparency at CBO: Presentation by Jeffrey Kling, an Associate Director for Economic Analysis at CBO, for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Independent Fiscal Office. (Canceled due to inclement weather.)

The Benefits of Borrowing, EducationNext: Our study provides the first rigorous evidence of the effect of loan offers on both borrowing and academic performance. We find that students whose aid letters offered nonzero loans were more likely to borrow, and those who borrowed did better in school. Students who received nonzero loan offers were 7 percentage points more likely to take out a loan (a 30 percent increase) and borrowed $280 more than students whose letters offered $0 in loans.

CONTACT US

ABOUT US

The vision of the National Association of Graduate-Professional Students (NAGPS) is to be a nationally representative and internationally recognized Association that advocates for institutional and structural changes to improve graduate and professional education in the United States.

The mission of NAGPS is to:
DEVELOP, SUSTAIN, & EXPAND a member network that connects graduate and professional students across the United States to facilitate the sharing of information, resources, and best practices.
EMPOWER our members to successfully serve their graduate-professional student constituents.
AMPLIFY students’ voices to campus, local, state, and federal policymakers.